BURMAN MISSION 


BY 


REV: E. F..MERRIAM 
cere 


BOSTON 
AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION 


TREMONT TEMPLE 


1893 


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INTRODUCTION. 


BurMA is the most prosperous province of India, and has 
a population of about 8,000,000. Its territory is diversified, 
generally fertile, and well watered. The internal commerce 
is extensive and the foreign trade is large and profitable. 
The principal exports are rice and teak timber. ‘The prevail- 
ing religion is Buddhism, and the people are free from the 
iron fetters of caste which bind their neighbors across the 
Bay of Bengal. Social life in Burma is therefore freer and 
more comfortable than in India, education is more general, 
and wages are more than three times as high. 

At the beginning of authentic Burman history the lower 
part of Burma was held by the Taligns or Peguans. These 
were conquered by the Burmans one hundred and fifty years 
ago, who held all Burma until that portion now under British 
rule was taken from them by that power. Within the limits 
of Burma there are said to be as many as forty-seven different 
races, which are scattered over the country, often mingling 
closely together in both town and country. 

The BurMaN is the ruling race of Burma, and by far the most 
numerous, numbering more than 2,500,000 in British Burma ina 
population of 3,736,771. They dwell in the valleys and plains 
of the country,and form the chief element in the permanent 
population of the cities and towns. The Burman language is 
used by all of this race, with some dialectic variations in dif- 
ferent parts of the country. It is the language of the courts, 
literature, and commerce, and efforts are being made to have 
it adopted by the people generaliy. The Burmans are of a 
Mongolian type, but without the sleepy eyes of the Chinese. 


4 


Their faces have an open, wide-awake expression, and they 
are generally enterprising, and polite in their manners. The 
women are independent to an unusual degree, both in social 
life and in trade, and usually hold the family purse. The 
Burmans are very strict Buddhists, and hold strongly to their 


BUDDHA. 

inherited religion. Although pursued for more than seventy 
years, mission work has not gained many converts among 
them, compared to its success among the Karens and other 
peoples. Within the last few years, however, greater interest 
has been shown in Christianity by the Burmans, and the pros- 
pects for the future seem more encouraging than ever before. 


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In 1812, the Baptists in America had already shown some- 
thing of a missionary spirit, and had afforded substantial as- 
sistance to the English Baptist Mission at Serampore, India. 
Many of the missionaries had been obliged to go out by way of 
America, because passage from England direct to India was 
denied them in the vessels of the East India Company; and 
their presence and addresses while in this country awaiting 
passage had aroused much enthusiasm. But as yet, no organ- 
ized effort to promote foreign missions had been formed among 
American Baptists. Feb. 18, 1812, Mr. and Mrs. Nott, with 
Messrs. Hall and Luther Rice, sailed from Philadelphia for 
India, and were followed on the 19th by Adoniram Judson and 
Samuel Newell, with their wives, sailing from Salem, Mass,, all 
representing the newly formed American Board of Commis- 
sioners for Foreign Missions, sustained principally by the Con- 
gregationalist denomination. In consequence of their careful 
study of the Bible on the passage to India, Mr. and Mrs. 
Judson, and also Luther Rice, became Baptists and were bap- 
tized at Calcutta. It was therefore resolved that Mr. and 
Mrs. Judson should remain and establish a mission wherever 
Providence might indicate, while Mr. Rice should return to 
America, in the hope of inducing the Baptists in this. country 
to undertake their support. Their expectations were not dis- 
appointed. The conversion of these missionaries to Baptist 
views in such a remarkable manner was regarded as a provi- 
dential indication of the will of God, and the work of collect- 
ing funds to support the work thrown upon their hands was 


6 


entered upon with enthusiasm. A meeting of delegates, rep- 
resenting all sections of the country, was called to meet at 
Philadelphia; and there, on May 18, 1814, was formed the 
‘General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the © 
United States of America for Foreign Missions.” This body 
was incorporated June 15, 1821, when the words “ and other 
important objects relating to the Redeemer’s Kingdom” 
were added to the title. In May, 1846, the name was changed 
to “The American Baptist Missionary Union,” in which form 
it still stands. . 

In the mean time, Mr. and Mrs. Judson, having been driven 
from India by the East India Company, had sailed to the 
Isle of France, or Mauritius. There they resolved to attempt 
the establishment of a mission in the Penang Straits, and 
sailed for the Prince of Wales Island by way of Madras. 
Here they were unable to find a ship bound for Penang, but 
fearing that the East India Company would send them back 
to England, they hastily took passage in a vessel bound for 
Burma, and after a stormy and perilous passage they arrived 
in Rangoon, July 13, 1813. By this series of remarkable 
providences was founded the Baptist mission in Burma, 
whose subsequent history has proved that it was truly a vine 
planted of the Lord. 

In Rangoon, the Judsons found vacant a house formerly occu- 
pied by Felix Carey, asonof Dr. William Carey, and another 
representative of the Serampore Mission, who had opened mis- 
sionary work in Rangoon in 1807; this they occupied, and at 
once began the study of the Burman language and missionary 
work. In 1816, Rev. George H. Hough and wife came to 
their assistance, bringing a printing press given by the Seram- 
pore Mission. In 1817, Dr. Judson was absent from Rangoon 
six months, in an attempt to procure a native assistant from 
Arakan, during which time no word was received from him, 
and he was given up for lost. Mr. Hough ieft during his ab- 


7 


sence, and Mrs. Judson, refusing to abandon Rangoon, was 
alone amid a savage and cruel people; but Mr. Judson soon 
arrived, and the work of the mission was resumed. June 27, 
1819, nearly six years after his arrival in Rangoon, Mr. Judson 
had the joy of baptizing the first Burman convert, a man named 


is es is the, ) PY aa ; 
LLYKZ GN hy Y Z IE i) 
Md aiedd 


eee ZZ, 4) Me j SON 
Sere er ne » Ay, ¢ Wp, i Vlg Vite 
<8. COMANT BOSTon, — 7772 PLE PW PAEED LIYE LY KY Gy: ily Hh 


A BURMAN ZAYAT. 


Moung Nau. Others soon followed, and were gathered into 
a church. James Colman and Edward Wheelock, with their 
wives, had arrived in Rangoon in September, 1818, and soon 
after the baptism of the first converts, persecution from the 
local authorities began to afflict the little flock, and drove 
away all the hearers who had been accustomed to frequent the 
Zayat to listen to the Gospel. In this crisis, Mr. Judson 


8 


determined to appeal to the royal court at Amarapura. The 
suit was unsuccessful, and the gilded Bible which was taken 
as a present to the king was rejected. The native Burman 
government usually opposed missionary work. Discouraged — 
by their failure, and the certain prospect of severe persecu- 
tion which awaited any Burman subjects who dared embrace 
the foreign religion, the missionaries decided to remove the 
mission to Arakan which was already under British control. 
But the three Christians in Rangoon conducted themselves 
with so much firmness under the trying circumstances, and 
plead so earnestly that they should not be forsaken, that Mr. 
and Mrs. Judson decided to remain in Rangoon, while Mr. 
and Mrs. Colman went to found a new mission in Chittagong. 
After their departure, the mission in Rangoon was continued 
by Mr. and Mrs. Judson with increasing success until in 
August, 1822, Mrs. Judson was compelled to return to 
America for the recovery of her health, leaving her husband _ 
to carry on the work with the help of Dr. and Mrs. J. D. 
Price, who had reached Rangoon only three months before, 
and Mr. and Mrs. Hough, who had returned from Serampore, 
bringing back the printing press, the loss of which had been 
an occasion of much inconvenience. 

Mrs. Judson’s visit to the United States was the means of 
arousing renewed interest in the Burman Mission, and on her 
return to Burma, in 1823, she was accompanied by Mr. and 
Mrs. Jonathan Wade. During her absence, Mr. Judson had 
made a second visit to the capital, which had been removed 
to Ava, to which the missionaries had been summoned on ac- 
count of the medical skill of Dr. Price. Land was loaned 
for the mission purposes, and several months were spent in 
mission work, Dr. Price enjoying much favor from the king 
as a physician. When Mr. Judson returned to Rangoon in 
February, 1823, however, he found the little church there 
scattered by official persecution, and nearly all the visible 


9 


results of the mission in that city swept away. On the arrival 
of Mrs, Judson with the Wades in December of that year, it 
was decided that Mr. and Mrs. Wade, with Mr. and Mrs. 
Hough, should continue the mission at Rangoon, while Mr. 
and Mrs. Judson proceeded to Ava, where Dr. Price had re- 
mained, to found a station there. 

On the roth of May, 1824, the arrival of English vessels 
of war at Rangoon began the first Burmese war, which prac- 
tically suspended missionary operations for nearly two years. 
The missionaries at Rangoon were exposed to the greatest 
danger, and after the capture of the city by the English they 
retired to Calcutta, where they remained until the conclusion 
of the war. Concerning the fate of the missionaries at Ava, 
great anxiety was felt, but nothing definite was learned until 
after peace between Burma and England was concluded, 
Feb. 24, 1826. Intelligence of the capture of Rangoon 
by the English was received at Ava, May 23, 1824, and Mr. 
Judson and Dr. Price were arrested and thrown into prison 
on the 8th of June. From this time, for more than a year 
and a half, the prisoners suffered as words cannot describe, 
from the cruelty of their jailers, from dreadful disease, and 
from want which often approached the verge of starvation. 
They were at first confined at Ava, then removed for a short 
time to Amarapura, and their captivity culminated in the 
often-described horrors of Oung-pen-la, from which they were 
released in January, 1826, as the king needed Mr. Judson’s 
services as interpreter in the negotiations for peace with the 
British commander. That the missionaries survived the un- 
told suffering and privation of this long imprisonment is 
entirely due to the heroism of Mrs. Judson, who, often in 
sickness and personal danger, ministered to their necessi- 
ties and with unflagging persistency sought their release. 
During her visit to America she had been advised by physi- 
cians not to return to Burma, and devoted friends sought 


Io 


earnestly to prolong her stay in this country; but it is undoubt- 
edly due to her devotion in returning to Burma as she did, 
even at the risk of health and life, that the life and matured 
labors of Dr. Judson were preserved to Burma and the world. 
The manuscript of the Burman Bible as far as translated 
was preserved by being sewn up in a pillow which was saved 
by one of Mrs. Judson’s native servants. Feb, 21, 1826, Mr. 
Judson was released, and, with his wife and little daughter, 
sailed joyfully down the Irrawaddy to the British camp. But 
the strain was too much for the strength of Mrs. Judson, and 
she died at Amherst, Oct. 24, 1826, during the absence of 
her husband as interpreter for the British embassy at Ava. 
A few weeks after her little Maria was laid by her side be- 
neath the Hopia tree, and the suffering and sorrowing pioneer 
of the Burman Mission was left alone. 

On the return of the missionaries to Rangoon, at the close 
of the war, it was found that the Rangoon Christians had be- 
come so scattered that few could be traced. It was therefore 
resolved to continue the mission at Amherst, selected as the 
capital of the Tenasserim provinces which had been ceded to 
England, rather than at Rangoon, which was still to remain 
under the control of the Burman king. Dr. Price accepted 
a position under the king at Ava, where he died in February, 
1828, cutting short a life of promising usefulness. Early in 
1827, George Dana Boardman and wife joined the band at 
Amherst; but the British headquarters were soon removed to 
Moulmein, and to this place the Boardmans removed, while 
Mr. and Mrs. Wade remained at Amherst for a time. Mr. 
Judson gave himself chiefly to the work of translation, residing 
principally at Moulmein. In April, 1828, Mr. and Mrs. Board- 
man removed to Tavoy, and thus, in the providence of God, 
became the founders of the Karen Mission, with which their 
names will be forever associated, rather than the Burman work 
to which they were appointed, 


Ua 


The mission in Moulmein enjoyed much prosperity in the 
following years, and in 1829 received an important accession 
in Mr. Cephas Bennett, a printer, who arrived, bringing a press 
and font of types, which were greatly needed. The little 


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PAGODA AT MOULMEIN. 


church in Rangoon had been kept alive through the efforts 
of a Burman convert named Ko Thah-a, and in this year he 
was ordained as pastor of the church, thus being the first 


I2 


native of Burma ordained to the gospel ministry. Moung 
Ing was also ordained a short time after, and sent to assist 
Ko Thah-a at Rangoon. Affairs becoming more settled in 
that city, Mr. and Mrs. Wade removed to Rangoon early in 
1830,and Mr. Judson the yearfollowing. Tracts and portions 
of Scripture were printed by Mr. Bennett, and scattered in 
large numbers among the people, who seemed anxious to re- 
ceive them. The gospel was also widely spread by a visit of 
some months made by Mr. Judson to Prome. ‘The mission in 
Moulmein had been considerably re-enforced, and had received 
large accessions, so that in 1832 it became necessary to form 
new churches in the outlying districts, that the converts might 
have the worship and ordinances of God easily accessible. 
This important movement, and also a visit of Mr. Kincaid to 
Upper Burma, resulted in a wider spreading of the gospel 
among the heathen. Fora short time a printing press was 
established at Ava by Mr. O. T. Cutter, by means of which 
many Christian tracts were put in circulation; but through the 
ignorant opposition of the Burman government, the mission- 
aries were driven away. At the end of 1833, one hundred 
and forty-seven Burmans had been baptized, of which seventy- 
eight were in connection with the Moulmein Mission. Mr. 
Judson had devoted his attention chiefly to the work of transla- 
tion, and Jan. 31, 1834, he had the pleasure of presenting to his 
God, who had preserved and sustained him, the completed 
translation of the Bible into the Burman language. 

In December, 1834, the missions in Burma received a re-en- 
forcement of fifteen missionaries, and in 1835 were visited by 
Dr. Howard Malcom, as a deputation from the American Bap- 
tists. Early in this year another severe persecution broke 
out against the church in Rangoon, in which one of the promi- 
nent native preachers, a man of excellent ability, was arrested, 
scourged, and deprived of his property. He died shortly after 
his release ; nearly all the Christians were fined or imprisoned, 


tS 


and the work of the Rangoon Mission was again suspended by 
the fires of persecution. But as soon as the officials relaxed 


“VWANA NI ANOH AUVNOISSIW V 


their vigilance the mission work was resumed, and the Chriss 
tians gathered to hear the Gospel as before. In 1836, how- 
ever, through the breaking out of a civil war, the missionaries 


14 


were compelled to retire from Ava and Rangoon to Moul- 
mein, and direct mission work in the Burman dominions 
ceased for several years. 

From the time the Burman Bible was completed, Dr. Jud- 
son had devoted his attention principally to a careful revision, 
which cost him more time and labor than the first translation ; 
but in 1840, the revision was given to the press. It has been 
remarked that Dr. Judson’s Bible is to the Burmans what 
Luther’s is to the Germans, and the translation of 1611 to 
readers of the English language; and so well was the task 
accomplished of giving the Bible to the Burmans in a popular 
and idiomatic form, that the work will never need to be re- 
peated. ‘This is the more remarkable when it is considered 

' that Dr. Judson began with no helps whatever, and created 
his own grammars and dictionaries as he went along. It is 
however, true, that his varied and trying experiences in the 
early history of the mission gave him exceptional opportuni 
ties for acquiring a knowledge of the Burman language in all 

its uses, and doubtless his suffering at Ava and Oung-pen-la 
contributed in no small degree to his success in rendering the 
Word of God into the every-day tongue of the Burman people. 

In 1838, a Burman Theological School was started in Moul- 
mein, by Rev. Edward A. Stevens on his arrival in Burma. 
It was suspended from 1841 to 1844, during which time Mr. 
Stevens devoted himself to editing a monthly Christian jour- 
nal for the Burmans, 7he Religious Herald, which is still con- 
tinued at Rangoon. The Theological School was also trans- 
ferred to Rangoon in 1862, where all the work of training 
preachers for Burma is united in one Seminary. Dr. Judson 
started for America in 1845, in company with Mrs. (Sarah 
Boardman) Judson; but she found her last resting-place 
on the island of St. Helena. Dr. Judson’s return to his native 
land, after an absence of thirty-three years, awakened the 

— liveliest emotions among American Baptists, who had so long 


a) 


regarded him as their representative in Burma, but had never 
seen his face. He was everywhere received with enthusiasm, 
although unable to address large assemblies on account of the 
loss of his voice, and on his return to Burma in 1846 was ac- 
companied by a goodly re-enforcement for the missions, 

No missionary had been able to reside in the Burman 
dominions since 1836; but on his arrival Dr. Judson visited 
Rangoon, and afterward resided there for some months with 
Mrs. (Emily C.) Judson. But he was obliged to give up the at- 
tempt to renew the mission there, and returned to Moulmein in 
September, 1847, where he devoted himself to the preparation 
of his Burman and English Dictionary, in connection with his 
usual missionary labors. Large editions of the Burman Bible 
were printed, and the church in Moulmein grew in numbers 
and in Christian graces; regular contributions were taken by 
the church for benevolent purposes. The Burman Theologi- 
cal School, under Rev. E. A. Stevens, had eight students in 
1846, several of whom had escaped from Burma Proper at the 
risk of their lives, in order to prepare themselves to preach 
the Gospel to their countrymen; 26,182 copies of various 
books and tracts were printed at the Moulmein press in 1847, 
containing 6,566,450 pages. The year 1847 is the first for 
which complete statistics of the Burman Mission are given 
separately from the Karen. At the end of that year there are 
given under the head of Moulmein, which included Rangoon, 
7 missionaries to the Burmans; 7 female assistant missiona- 
ries; 16 native preachers and assistants; 4 churches; 11 bap- 
tized during the year, and (about) 200 church members; 3 
schools, and 160 pupils. There were also in .Arakan one mis- 
sionary to the Burmans in that country; 10 native assistants, 
2 churches, and 55 members, 15 having been baptized during 
the year; 2 schools and 42 pupils. 

The active centre of the Burman Mission continued at 
Moulmein, Dr. Judson devoting his principal attention to 


* 


16 


translation and the Burman-English Dictionary. Rev. E. A. 
Stevens was in charge of the Theological School, Rev. L 
Stilson of the boarding school, while the great work of preach- 
ing the Gospel in widely extended districts was carried on by 
Rev. Jonathan Wade, Rev. T. Simons, Rev. H. Howard, and 
Rev. J. M. Haswell. Mr. Haswell also gave attention to the 
Taligns, formerly the ruling race of Burma, who were settled 
in the vicinity of Moulmein in considerable numbers. The 
printing press, in care of Mr. T. S. Ranney, sent forth every 
year large quantities of Christian literature, of school books 
and of Scriptures in Burman and Karen, as fast as they could 
be translated. 

Rev. Adoniram Judson, D. D., the senior missionary of the 
American Baptist Missionary Union, and the pioneer of 
the Burman Mission, died at sea, April 12, 1850, when 
scarcely three days from Burma on a voyage to the Isle of 
Bourbon, for the benefit of his health. He was buried in the 
sea in latitude thirteen degrees north, and longitude ninety 
degrees east of Greenwich. At the death of Dr. Judson, the 
completion of the Burman-English Dictionary was intrusted to 
Mr. Stevens, and published in 1852, the English-Burman part 
having been completed by Dr. Judson, and published in 
January, 1850. For sixteen years, from 1836 to 1852, no 
missionary was able to reside permanently at Rangoon, 
where the Burman Mission was founded. Every attempt at 
the public.preaching of the Gospel had been suppressed by 
the Burman authorities, and the natives who openly favored 
the missionaries were punished with fines, imprisonment, and 
death. 

Attempts to re-establish mission work in Rangoon, by 
Dr. Judson, in 1847, and Rev. Eugenio Kincaid and J. Daw- 
son, M. D., in 1851, were received with great favor by the 
people, but sternly repressed by the Burman authorities. 
Feb. 15, 1851, began the Second Burman War with England. 


17 


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SR Stn Lae pecs 
Ko eee 


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A BURMAN CART. 


18 


Dec. 20, 1852, the Governor-General of India, by proclama- 
tion issued at Rangoon, declared “the Province of Pegu is 
now and shall be henceforth a portion of the British territories 
in the East.” ‘The boundaries of British Burma were thus 
settled as they continued until 1885, and alarge additional terri- 
tory was thrown open to the free access of the Burman 
Mission. ‘This important event made necessary the imme- 
diate enlargement of the missions in Burma, and $15,000 in 
addition to the usual sum were appropriated for enlarged 
operations and reorganization the first year. A deputation 
consisting of Rev. Solomon Peck, D. D., secretary of the 
Union, and Rev. James N. Granger, D. D., of Providence, R. I., 
left America in October, 1852, in anticipation of the impor- 
tant changes which must soon take place in the missions in 
Burma. Messrs. Kincaid and Dawson returned to Rangoon 
in the spring of 1852,so0on after the capture of the city by the 
English, and resumed missionary labors. They found a small 
church of fifteen members which had survived the sixteen 
years of continuous persecution. Public services were held 
Sunday, June 20, and a hospital was fitted up by Dr. Dawson. 
The missionaries were well received by the people; books 
and tracts were in great demand, and opportunities for labor 
multiplied beyond their ability to fulfl. 

A general Convention of all the missionaries in Burma met 
in Moulmein, April 4, 1853, and continued its sessions for 
six weeks, until May 17, at which the Executive Committee of 
the Missionary Union was represented by the deputation 
above mentioned. ‘The present and prospective conditions 
of missionary labor in Burma were fully considered, and 
measures adopted which have had a decisive influence upon 
the missions in that country. The convention decided that 
Burman missions should be at once permanently established 
in Rangoon, Bassein, Henthada, Prome, Toungoo, and 
Shwaygyeen, constituted a publication committee for the 


Se) 


control of the Mission Press, consolidated the Tavoy Press 
with that at Moulmein, recommended increased attention to 
the oral preaching of the Gospel to the heathen in their own 
tongues, the ordination of a larger number of native pastors, 
and that schools should be strictly under missionary supervis- 
ion, and used rather as a “means for Christian bss ) 
than of imparting a secular education.” The establishment 
of Normal schools in the principal stations for training 
teachers and preachers was approved; the founding of other 
boarding schools, and the teaching of English in the mission 
schools, was discouraged. Some of the decisions of the Con- 
vention have been modified on subsequent experience, but it 
must always be regarded as one of the most important events 
in the history of missions in Burma, and its influence on the 
whole was beneficial. By its discussions and conclusions a 
great advance in the missions was made possible within a few 
years, which must otherwise have come about very slowly. 

As missionaries were still excluded from the dominions of 
the king of Burma, Rev. Eugenio Kincaid began work in 
the city of Prome. ‘The first three converts were baptized 
Feb. 22, 1854, and seventy within the year. The work has 
since expanded into one of the most successful of the Burman 
missions. ‘The mission to Ava was not abandoned, but sus- 
pended. Early in 1856, Rev. Eugenio Kincaid and J. Daw- 
son, M. D., visited Ava, where they were well received by 
the king, who sent a message to the government of the 
United States by Mr. Kincaid, which the latter came to this 
country to deliver. On his return, Messrs. Kincaid and 
Dawson visited Mandalay, and the king gave them land for 
a mission compound and offered to erect a house for them ; 
but the obstacles to missionary labors in the Burman domin- 
ions reappeared, and no missionary ever established a per- 
manent mission in the dominions of the native king of 
Burma. 


20 


The fine brick chapel at Rangoon which: had been seven 
years in building, and cost As. 10,000, was dedicated Oct. 30, 
1859, and was almost entirely paid for by the residents of 
the city. This encouraging indication of progress was fol- 
lowed in 1860 by the baptism of forty converts, and the for- 
mation of the Rangoon Burman Missionary Society. The 
first Burman Association met the same year at Thongze, to 
which place Mrs. M. B. Ingalls had begun to devote special 
attention, and where she removed in 1861. An unusual in- 
terest in Christianity among the Burmans was reported from 
Rangoon, Bassein, Henthada, and Prome. 

Early in 1862, the mission press, which had seen a long and 
useful service in Moulmein, was removed to Rangoon, as 
that city had become the most central and accessible point 
of the mission work in Burma. Rev. Cephas Bennett, the 
superintendent, continued his oversight of the printing for all 
the missions in Burma, assisted by Mrs. Bennett, to whose 
assiduity and accurate linguistic acquirements in several lan- 
guages the literary work of the missions is not a little in- 
debted. Owing to the depreciation of United States currency, 
during the Civil War, a financial stringency was experienced 
in the Burman as in other missions. Enlargement on an ex- 
tended scale was not possible; but the work was carried on at 
all the old stations, and was specially prospered at Prome and 
Thongze. In accordance with recommendations from the 
Executive Committee, Oct. 15, 1865, the Burma Baptist Mis- 
sionary Convention, composed of Baptist Christians of all 
races, was formed at Rangoon, and has since been an active 
and efficient agent in promoting the evangelization of Burma, 
and also of the Karens of Northern Siam. At its second an- 
niversary, held in Moulmein, beginning Nov. 3, 1867, ninety- 
one members were present, of whom fifteen were American 
missionaries, twenty native ordained preachers, thirty-eight 
unordained preachers, and eighteen laymen; $496.26 were 


21 


collected and expended, and a visit to Siamese Karens was 
made by several native preachers. The same year witnessed 


“ASQOHTOOHOS NOISSIW V 


the appointment of Miss Susie E. Haswell to teach in a school 
proposed and established by her father, the Rev, J. M. Has- 


22 


well, so becoming a pioneer in the enlarged mission school 
work now under the special patronage of the Woman’s Mis- 
sionary Societies. An extended tour into Burma Proper was 
made by Rev. A. T. Rose, of the Burman Mission, and Rev. 
J. N. Cushing of the Shan Mission. They penetrated far into 
the country northeast of Mandalay, and were everywhere 
received with favor. 

In the annual report of the Missionary Union for 1868 is 
found the first systematic attempt to collect the statistics of 
the missions in Burma which had been made for many years. 
The following statistics of the Burman Mission in 1867 will 
well illustrate the progress which has been made from the 
first feeble beginning : — 


2 [ag S Et ae 
Stations. Fe eas a =e F 3 aw 
Seca aur oe eee 
Gaps ees eae aber see aa alae 
rey & Son 
ee Reyes Mokke: ton © 5 Ss Py om 
Rangoon)’. s...502% 5 I 10 I 14 | 206 61 478 
Maulmain........ Reget 7 2 13.}'2438 | 246 552 
Basseinih<cnexs08 2 3 4 6 74 30 Gs 
Henthadas..c cas. 2a Detain © ae 3 4 56 44 * 
EPOMCs. 2 ete cose GAL 6 4 3 T5a\ es aes 544 
SAV OY ie cota et vorapeiwie ais Zainal a aire TA) eeers cans 5 60 
Thonezaity casa 2k a rE tate 2 86 * 
otal wes tone 242 VG 26 a S41 7OO4) ORS sera 


* Not reported. 


23 


In 1869, fifty years from the baptism of the first Burman 
convert, the number of members in Burman Baptist churches 
were nine hundred and eighty-five. 

For many years Rev. E, A. Stevens had maintained, in con- 
nection with other duties, a class for the instruction of Burman 
preachers, first at Maulmain, and then at Rangoon. ‘The 
need of more systematic arrangements for the theological 
training of Burmans had long been felt, and on representa- 
tions from the missionaries, the Executive Committee author- 
ized the establishment of a Burman Literary and Biblical 
School at Moulmein; but the plan was never carried into 
effect, and Dr. Stevens continued his personal labors in this 
direction. He enjoys the high honor of having made nearly 
all the systematic efforts that have ever been put forth for 
the training of preachers for the Burman Baptist churches. 
With the growth of the Burman Mission in later years this 
work has become increasingly important, and has now been 
united with the same work for all races in Burma. 

After a service of more than fifty years as superintendent of 
the Mission Press in Tavoy, Moulmein, and Rangoon, Rev. 
Cephas Bennett retired from this position in 1881. In the last 
year of his labors in this connection, there were printed 18,000 
copies of Scriptures, books, and tracts, containing 3,236,000 
pages. The good done through the Press while under his 
care will only be known in the great day when all things 
shall be known. 

Since the overthrow of the native king by the English, in 
1885, the present prospects of the Burman Mission are more 
favorable than ever before. From nearly all the stations an 
increased interest in Christianity is reported among the Bur- 
mans, baptisms have been more numerous than usual, and 
earnest and anxious inquirers after the truth are often found 
among the proud people who have so long resisted the influ- 
ence of the divine Spirit upon their hearts. ‘The progress 


_— 


24 


of the mission is told in part by the following statistical table, 
but the growing radiance of the Eastern sky, brighter than the 
“ Light of Asia,” foretells a day of joy and gladness for the 


blind and bigoted followers of Buddha. 


STATISTICS, DECEMBER 31, 1892. 


2S lad] g¥ ; 
. 5 es a 5 0 BN 
Oa os alia |? ee 
Stations. s/polsSim| ¢)/ co] ¢ 

S/ed/eel og) sts ios |e) 

ab Bete SS 1 eel SR eee we 

SoS she | ea ie Cneltaee A NUT ee 
Rangoon....-. 8 ta A dl O5so 408 \envainer oad 
Moulmein Bh 2 le DAM Bile 8. le IS) AOU aN Ae 
Tavoy «22.5. 8s Die tht, Hai RE EA}? OT 70 
Bassein....... eA Made (Gl nese2 as a Ween © pti PR oe A 67 
THenzada..2%; wi] SBN iS lie cept hemcz ihe g 63 Shi vEA Gl Stel = BOS 
Toungoo...... baa) iat ea ot | 8 64 3 Est 

Shwegyin...«. a Notre Maes als I 4 35 : 
Promeé 2.5 Ses: Bir ale eae Biot kre ROW: Wd Allee sublialen w fe 
Thongze .-«... By Si Ao ee ee Oe 2701! OG 
Mandalay.....| Naess ee Renee mg! Gee ere GRP Key is. 
Myiicyan 6 6 a) gle) eae I LY}. < jog tenes 
Peg... aeagen 1} S32 R21 ga a.) 2 EO eee ees 
Sacaing mea. AN Lal oR Geet 4 SRY Sey SE 
Sandoway..... i), Eco eee, Va ea BO iad 44 
Meiktila...... Place lume Lake os I Otis 56 
Totals. seek 63) 18:5) 537) 35 27) 183) 2.210) 25 yieaok 


Contributions, 
1892. 


345 93 
414 36 
190 31 


$4,092 09 


